Healthy Living for Babes on a Budget.

My First Time Trying a Meal Delivery Service

I gotta be honest with you, I never pegged myself for one of those meal kit or meal delivery people…

I just figured, okay I love to grocery shop and I love to cook, so why would I need someone to take care of those things for me, right? Wrong.

Here’s the thing, while I do love shopping/cooking and I don’t actually mind spending time doing them, I never realized just how much time they took out of my daily life. I don’t know about you, but I make about 80% of my meals each week at home, which means I’m prepping breakfast and lunch ahead of the work day, and then cooking when I get home at night.

If you can’t relate to me on that, I bet you can relate to me on this – do you know the feeling when you get home from a vacation and you’re exhausted AF so the thought of going to the crowded grocery store let alone standing in the kitchen long enough to put something together just sounds terrible? YEAH. I know you do. That was me last week when I got back into town after 4 days on the east coast with very minimal sleep.

My savior? Territory Foods. The week before I went out of town, I remembered that I’d probably have that sinking feeling when I got home and had nothing in the fridge. Not to mention, I’m trying to be good about my eats these days since my broken elbow has caused quite the disruption in my workout routine!

So, I went onto the Territory Foods website and decided to place an order for breakfast and lunch for the three days following my trip. They would be delivered to my door the day I got back into LA and the best part? There’s no subscription – which is a game changer for me since my schedule never looks the same day to day.

Here’s what appealed to me most about Territory Foods: everything is made by local chefs who take input from a nutritionist to create balanced meals and the menu changes week to week. The ingredients are sustainably and locally sourced, and you can even choose filters to match your diet preferences (like Whole 30, Paleo, or low carb). All of their meals are free of gluten and dairy ingredients, which is also nice if you’re sensitive to those! You also get to customize your order to choose exactly which meals you’d like and there are a tonnnn of delicious options. I was actually super impressed with the selection!

And, as I mentioned, there’s no subscription/regular commitment requirement, but it is slightly cheaper if you choose a recurring plan and makes sense to opt into the recurring discount, since you can skip/pause/cancel anytime.

The Process

The Thursday before I got back from my travels, I went onto the Territory Foods website and placed my order. Since deliveries come Mondays and Thursdays, and my flight landed on Monday, I knew I’d be okay in terms of timing/getting the food in the fridge as quickly as possible. There were two size options: Standard (between 400 and 600 calories) or Boost (between 250 and 400 calories).

I chose to pick Standard, since I know myself and 250 calories ain’t gonna cut it for me, which came out to $13.95 a meal. I know this might sound like it’s pricey, and the Boost meals only cost $10.95 a meal if you’re trying to save, but I’ll tell ya – my breakfasts were enormous, I was able to share with my boyfriend, and two lunches actually lasted me for three days. So if you break it down, it’s probably around $10 a serving, which isn’t bad! Not to mention that I wasn’t snacking at all since I was full, so I didn’t have to worry about bringing energy bars or anything like that. I’d say that’s pretty cost effective, especially when you factor in the time saved!

My Order

Breakfast & Lunch Day 1:

Veggie Breakfast Bowl with Caprese Salsa – I loooooved this one! So much flavor.

Pulled Pork with Butternut Squash and Brussels – Such a hearty but nutritious meal. The veggies were seasoned and cooked perfectly!

Breakfast & Lunch Day 2:

Veggie Breakfast Bowl with Caprese Salsa – Good thing I ordered this one twice ’cause I loved it so much.

Vegan Mac & “Cheese” with Seasonal Vegetables – my FAVE.

Breakfast & Lunch Day 3:

Lemon Poppy Muffins with Cinnamon Breakfast Apples – These muffins were so good that I legitimately regretted sharing one with my boyfriend…

After having three days and six meals prepared for me ahead of time with Territory Foods, I can honestly say that I might be a meal delivery service convert…so much so that I actually ordered three lunches again for this upcoming week since I’m going out of town yet again and it doesn’t make sense to stock up on groceries.

SO. Is this the most frugal option for someone looking to eat real, home-cooked meals? No. Is this a ridiculously convenient and delicious option for weeks when you’re busy, coming home to an empty fridge, or tired AF? YES.

I don’t know what other meal delivery services are like, but I can tell you that the two most important things about Territory Foods to me personally are the following: 1) it’s not subscription based and 2) there is an unbelievable amount of variety no matter what diet you’re on or health goals you have. I honestly cannot recommend it enough!

If you’d like to see what mean, and trust me, I won’t let ya down, head over to Territory Foods and use the code DANCINGFORDONUTS for $30 off your first order. You can also order directly through this link – I won’t make any money from it, I just honestly know you’ll love it if you try it!

So there ya have it, fine folk. Have you ever ordered from a meal delivery service before?